Friday, 28 July 2017

Horror Review: Kalifornia (1993)

A journalist duo go on a tour of serial killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.

As we all know the 90's was a strange time for the genre, crime was the in thing and it got put in with the Horror genre.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, there's always been a very thin line when it comes to the whole Crime/Thriller/Mystery and Horror, It all seems to get put under the same blanket which some people don't like. It's never really bothered me though as I like crime movies and thrillers.

This film is a prime example of what I'm trying to to talk about, the feature itself is a psychological roller coaster that practically has you on edge and is filled with tension and an uneasy atmosphere to boot, yet I wouldn't call it a Horror film, merely a great thriller.

The film features some absolutely amazing acting, Pitt goes all out on this role and it's a shame he didn't play more roles of this nature. I enjoyed the flow of the movie and the story itself is just disturbing yet entertaining, also the characters were great and very well written.

The film unfairly gets overshadowed by "Natural Born Killers" which was released shortly after this but in my opinion this is the better movie, I now that isn't a popular opinion but I've always enjoyed this more as I found it more of a gripping and intriguing viewing.

Is "Kalifornia" a Horror? Well, no it isn't. Is it dark and disturbing? Yes, yes it is.

If you want to see the "Kalifornia" trailer then just click on the video below:

Miscellaneous facts about the film:

During the movie, 'Early Grace' sports a chipped tooth. Brad Pitt visited a dentist to have the tooth chipped for the role.

Following the release of the movie, DC Comics commissioned a comic book adaptation to coincide with the movie's video release in 1994. The adaptation was to be written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Duncan Fegredo. The adaptation was never finished, except for some coloring work done by Danny Vozzo. It's speculated that this was due to the demise of Gramercy Pictures, who owned the rights to the film. A version of the incomplete comic has been since uploaded to the Internet.

Michelle Forbes' photographer character is a reference to the controversial photographer Andres Serrano, specifically his series "History of Sex" and "The Klan" (from the early 1990s).

Early in the movie, when Carrie (Michelle Forbes) and Brian (David Duchovny) first see Early Grayce (Brad Pitt) and Adele Corners (Juliette Lewis), Carrie is heard complaining to Brian, "They look like a couple Okies." Brad Pitt was born in Oklahoma. An "Okie" is someone from Oklahoma. In the 1930s it became a term of disparagement referring to the large number of very poor migrants from Oklahoma, and nearby states, who fled the poverty of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression by moving to California, mostly by automobile along U.S. Route 66. The four main characters drive through the Southwest U.S. generally following the path of the now decommissioned Route 66.